Actuaries Salary

It’s a stretch — at the median salary of $108K, rent takes 46.1% of take-home pay. A 2-bedroom at the HUD Fair Market Rent runs $3,001/month. The 30% guideline puts the comfortable ceiling at roughly $2,000/month in rent — so roommates or a 1-bedroom would ease the math significantly.

The 10th-percentile wage — what new actuaries typically earn — is $82K/year. Take-home on that works out to about $4,946/month. At HUD’s $3,001/month FMR, rent would take 61% of that take-home — above the 30% guideline, so a 1-bedroom or shared housing is likely necessary starting out.

Local pay runs 17% below the national median — $108K here vs. $130K nationally.

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad pays $108K median vs. the U.S. average of $130K — that’s -17%. After adjusting for local cost of living (RPP 111.89), the purchasing-power equivalent is $96K — below the national median.

The median is $107,890 a year, that works out to about $52 an hour. But the range is wide: entry-level workers start around $82,430, and experienced actuaries can clear $210,000. These are BLS numbers, based on employer-reported data, not self-reported surveys.

On that salary, you'd take home roughly $6,510/month after taxes. A 2-bedroom here rents for about $3,001/month, which eats 46.1% of your paycheck. That's above the 30% rule of thumb, housing will be a stretch at the median salary, though you can manage with roommates or a smaller place.

San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad has a Regional Price Parity of 111.89 (100 is the national average). Prices are above average here, so your dollar buys less than the same salary would in a cheaper metro. After cost-of-living adjustment, the median actuaries salary is worth about $96,425 in national-average purchasing power.

The table above ranks every state by median pay for this role. Keep in mind that the highest-paying states tend to have the highest costs of living, so the top salary doesn't always mean the most money in your pocket.